Club chairman Michael Wilde and director Andrew Cowen have also left both the company and the club, with recovery and restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor placed in charge.

Joint-administrator Mark Fry painted a bleak future for Southampton, who are more than £30m in debt and currently second from bottom in the Championship.

"If we don't find a buyer for the club there is a very, very high probability that it will not last until the end of the season. Realistically it will mean the end of the football club," Fry said.

"It's a very different economic climate from two years ago and football clubs have fallen as hard as anything. It's a difficult task but we will search very hard for a buyer. I would say that anyone looking to buy the club will find it a lot cheaper than it would have been two years ago."

Controversial former chairman Lowe is, according to Fry, unlikely to be among any potential buyers. "We would welcome an approach from anybody, but as far as I am informed Rupert Lowe has not shown an interest," he added.

By placing their parent company into administration, however, Southampton appear to have avoided a 10-point deduction from the Football League. The League will discuss the matter at a scheduled meeting on Tuesday, but as things stand they cannot apply the standard sanction because the club itself is not in administration.

"We are in dialogue with the Football League and we don't think the club should be affected," said Fry. "We don't think the rules apply to this but we will find out in due course."

Luton managing director Gary Sweet, whose side are bottom of League Two having been deducted 20 points due to their own fall into administration, has criticised the situation.

"This makes a mockery of the Football League's attempt to uphold the integrity of the competition," said Sweet. "If this sails through I see no reason why any football club should not set up a holding company that carries the entire debt of the club which is periodically put into administration in order to cleanse debt while attracting no sanctions."